“The Most Beautiful Love Story Ever Told..." - Not this time. Can Edward control his ferocious thirst, bloodlust and anger, to see what is right in front of him? Before it's too late? Loosely based on Disney's 'Beauty and The Beast'. Rated M - AU, OOC

Warning: This story is very different from my other stories, as it's the first time i've written a story about a Vamp Edward. BUT, this story contain a Darkward, which means he is a Dark character. And believe me, he is a very, very bad boy... So this story is rated 'M' for adult themes.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer owns any and all Twilight characters that may appear in this story. The remainder is my original work. Copyright 2009 by Fates-Love-Queen. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without my express written authorization.

A/N: Hi My Lovelies!

So... this is the new chapter of my new story. It was originally written for the Twi-Fans Haiti compilation that was put together by the fabulous MsKathy : )

It is loosely based on Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' - as I am a hardcore Disney fan, and Darkward owns my soul.

I need to thank my amazing beta kyla713 for getting this back to me so quickly and continuing to make my writing the best it can be. Thanks so much hun. Go and read her stories, they are uh-may-zing! : p

And huge thanks to my cpm for this story, shaelove. Who listened as I threw around crazy ideas and encouraged me with better ideas, lol. Couldn't have done it without you hun, so thank you : )

P.S. I have posted this today as part of Reader Appreciation Day! Thank you to my fan-bloody-tastic readers, from the bottom of my heart. You will never know how much your kind words and support have meant to me. Every single review and alert you have left have touched my heart and made writing so much more worth while. I love and cherish each of you *hugs and kisses*

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle.

Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind.

But then, one winter's night, a young beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold and protection, as she stated that she was being chased by something.

The woman was incredibly beautiful and the prince noted that she appeared almost ethereal. With her long silvery blonde hair flowing down her back and her perfect facial features set against flawless, porcelain white skin. But the feature that held stood out the most was her eyes.

They were the strangest color he had ever seen.

A deep gold, like the high sun on a summer's day; they were hypnotic. But when he broke eye contact, he was able to take in the rest of her.

She was much shorter than he was, and her shoulders hunched forward as she leaned on a walking stick, despite her youthful appearance. The rags she was wearing were covered in thick mud, as was most of her body, and he noted that she was also barefoot.

Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the woman away, but she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, something happened that he did not expect.

The woman straightened her shoulders, stood tall to look him in the eyes and smiled at him sweetly. It was such an innocent gesture, but the prince found himself cowering from her smile, and felt a shiver of fear run up his spine.

"I warned you to look past my appearance. You should have taken my advice. I would have thought that you of all people would have shown some nobility, Prince Edward," the woman said as she continued to smile at him sweetly.

"H-how do you know my name…?"

"I know everything about you. You're nothing but a spoiled brat."

"How dare you speak to me with such disrespect, I…"

Before the prince could finish, he was startled when the woman appeared in front of him. He hadn't seen the movement, but instead of being at least ten feet away from him, she was now mere inches from his face with her finger over his lip.

He shuddered as her skin came in contact with his; it was unnaturally cold…

"Hush. You may speak to others in that condescending tone, but you will certainly not with me," she chastised, with a voice as icy as her skin.

He audibly swallowed as he gazed in to her golden eyes; his whole body locked down and frozen in fear.

"Who are you?" he squeaked.

"The question shouldn't be who I am, it should be what I am," she whispered in to his ear.

The breath caught in the prince's throat and his eyes became as wide as saucers as he waited for her to continue.

"I am what you are about to become," she said, as she lowered her head so that he could feel her cold breath on his neck.

The prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart.

"You have no empathy or compassion for others. You are harsh and cruel without just cause. You have grown up privileged and have everything you could ever need, yet you offer help to no one. But worst of all, you have a heart, but have never used it. Therefore, I'm going to make things easier for you-a gift for you, my little blackheart. You shall remain cold, heartless and alone for all of eternity," she said as she leaned in to kiss his neck.

Unconsciously, the prince closed his eyes at the sensation of the woman's cold lips against his skin.

They lingered there for a moment and when the cold sensation ceased, he opened his eyes.

But the woman was no where to be found; she had disappeared…

He stepped out from the doorway and looked around, but there was no sign of her anywhere.

"But that's not possible, no one can move that fast," the prince said, as he continued to look for any trace of his visitor.

He shook his head, and wondered if it had all been a dream.

At least, until the burning started…

The prince abruptly fell to his knees in the snow as the pain took over.

It felt as though he were being burned alive from the inside out.

He cried out in agony as the invisible fire coursed through his veins, but his screams were in vain; no one could help him.

As punishment, the woman transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there.

After an immeasurable amount of time, the fire finally started to die out, before disappearing altogether.

The prince was surprised to find himself in one piece rather than in ashes from the roaring fire that had consumed him.

He stood, smiling to himself and thinking that the woman was full of empty threats.

That was, until he took a deep breath of the icy night air.

He knew that the coldness should have hurt his lungs and throat or at least made him uncomfortable, but he felt nothing.

He took in a deeper breath and held it, seeing if that would cause him discomfort, but after holding it for at least ten minutes, he still felt nothing.

"Shouldn't I be gasping for breath by now? Or worse?" he thought to himself, as he released his breath.

The only thing he felt was an uncomfortable scratching starting to grow in his throat, almost like an ache.

Reasoning it as a lack of water, he started to make his way back to the castle.

"But I don't want to go to bed yet. I'm not tired…"

The prince stopped and turned on his heel to find the source of the voice, but there was no one in sight.

"I can tell this is going to be another difficult night," he heard someone sigh.

He looked up and down the street, but still could not see anyone.

"I know it's late, but I wonder if Momma will let me have some pie when we get home..."

The prince was immediately confused.

What he was hearing didn't seem to be people talking, but more like silent thoughts.

Just as he was about to move, he saw a young girl and her mother turn and start down the street he was standing on.

The girl couldn't have been more than ten, her mahogany curls bobbing around her face as she skipped, while holding her mother's hand.

Her cheeks flushed slightly from the cold and her large brown eyes were wide with excitement.

"I'm so tired. I hope Mark doesn't pester me tonight. All I want to do is to collapse in to my pillow and sleep."

The prince heard the woman's voice, but did not see her lips move.

In fact, the thought was so private, that he felt as though he were intruding…

"Wait, am I somehow hearing her thoughts?" he questioned, as he started moving toward them.

He couldn't help but notice how graceful his strides were as he moved towards them. It was as though his feet weren't even touching the ground, his footsteps were so quiet.

"I hope he is already asleep, that way I can just sneak in. But knowing my luck, he'll be awake waiting…"

There was no mistaking it, neither sets of lips had moved when he had heard the voice…

He was only about twenty feet away from them now. Upon seeing him, the girl smiled and he saw the woman scowl in his direction without making eye contact.

A light breeze had picked up and it blew the girls hair in her face as it passed her, and the prince froze.

He didn't know where it came from, but he had just smelt the most delicious scent he had ever experienced.

Better than freshly baked bread or homemade pies cooling on the windowsill.

Better than the imported chocolates his mother had sent to her or even his favorite; freshly roasted chicken.

His hand abruptly flew to his throat as the fire that had coursed through him before came back with a vengeance.

All he could think about was that smell, it was consuming him, and he needed to find its source.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

The scent was close, very close.

Opening his eyes, he ran toward the scent and was shocked when he stopped directly in front of the little girl.

Without thinking, he picked her up and brought her neck to his nose.

"Oh god, it's divine!" he thought as he inhaled.

And then something happened that the prince did not expect.

He heard a feral snarl build in his chest and fall from his lips as he sunk his teeth in to the girl's neck.

He began to suck viciously as the hot liquid ran down his throat.

He heard the mother's screamed pleas, but they fell upon deaf ears.

There was no way he could stop even if he wanted too.

It was like water to a fire, slowly extinguishing the burn in his throat.

But suddenly the liquid stopped, and the fire came back full force.

He dropped the girl to the snow and lunged at the girl's mother, quickly ripping the shawl from her shoulders and plunging his teeth to her neck.

In the back of his mind, he was screaming how that was possible.

How his teeth could cut through her flesh like a knife through butter, how her struggle against him was in vain, as he was suddenly incredibly strong and powerful.

The woman continued to scream, a sound reminding him of nails running across a chalkboard.

She needed to stop.

He increased the pressure of his hold minutely until he heard a crunching sound.

The woman's scream turned into a gurgle, before cutting off altogether as she fell limply in his grasp.

He continued to drink greedily from the woman's neck until it too ran dry.

Disappointed, he threw the woman to the ground, as the burn returned.

He ran his fingers through his hair angrily, staring at the bodies on the ground.

As the word 'bodies' registered, he froze and turned his gaze to the snow.

The girl, who had been so full of life not even five minutes before, was now slumped on the ground, unmoving. Her slightly flushed face was now a ghastly grey color and her wide smile was now a grimace painted on a face filled with fear.

His hand flew to his heart, the burn momentarily forgotten as he fell to his knees in the snow.

A loud sob escaped his chest and his eyes brimmed with tears, but would not fall.

"What in god's name have I done?" he cried out with his hand on his chest.

It was then he realized that something was very wrong.

He moved his hand frantically around his chest, but to no avail.

He could not find a heart beat…

Was he dead?

If so, then how was he standing, breathing and moving?

Thoughts started to fly through his mind, but he only came up blank.

Panicking, he turned and ran in the opposite direction and was shocked at the speed in which he was moving.

But something in him snapped, as he breathed in yet another delectable scent.

His mouth began watering in such a mass, that it was overflowing from his lips down his chin, as the burn in his throat fired up again.

He felt instinct take him over as he pounced on an unsuspecting man from behind.

As the hot liquid ran down his throat, he let out a growl of contentment.

When he was finished, he heard more screams and proceeded to silence them by draining the host dry.

He scoured the town, hunting down each and every person, to quench his insatiable thirst.

When there was no one left to drain, he returned to the castle.

Now that he was somewhat satiated, he was able to think more clearly.

He ran to his room in the west wing, locked the door behind him and made his way over to the full-length mirror residing in the corner.

Standing in front of it, he gasped at his appearance.

He had always seen himself as an attractive man, but now, he was flawless. Every part of him had been enhanced and perfected, as though he'd been chiseled from stone.

His hands and clothes were covered in blood, physical evidence of his sins.

But what held his attention were the eyes.

He refused to say 'his eyes' because they were not.

His eyes were green; these ones were a startling vibrant red.

The kind of red that you picture the flames in the fires of hell.

What had he become?

Unable to look at the eyes staring back at him, or the innocent blood that covered him any longer, he smashed the mirror with his bare hands.

You would have expected the glass shards to slice his hands, but they did not.

He proceeded to smash every single mirror in the west wing of the castle. His wing.

The thunder roared and the lightening violently lit up the night skies outside the castle, as if sensing his anger.

He ripped the blood-covered clothes from his body and threw them in to the fire, as though destroying the evidence would make it less real.

It didn't.

He had no idea what the young woman had done to him but one thing was certain.

She had turned him into the goddamned devil himself, a beast.

Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror the woman had left as his only window to the outside world.

She had also left him a note.

The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his hundredth year.

If he could learn to love another, and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken.

If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time.

As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope, for who could ever learn to love a beast?

A/N: So, what do you think? Likey? No likey? Love Darkward? Hate Darkward?

I HOPE you likey! Chapter 2 will be up soon : )

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE INDIES: I have actually been nominated in the Indie Awards! Me...! Would you believe it? I am so honoured and overwhelmed even to be nominated!

FOUR out of SIX of my stories are up for nomination! I was floored! Thank you SO much whoever voted for me!

'A Secret Love' is up for best Novella, 'To Serve and Protect' is up for best Action or Drama story WIP, and 'The Course Of Love Never Did Run Smooth' and 'The Name's Cullen, Scrooge Cullen' are both nominated for best One-shot!

If you liked these stories (or me! lol) please go and vote for me? Voting is open now until March 2nd.